Quality Improvement of Aluminum Alloy (LM-6) Casting Using Taguchi Method

Abstract

There is no alternative to the intricacy; evidenced through sand casting as a production route, economical and poised for shorter runs. Quality of castings and parametric control thereof is more important than that of die casting. With increasing demand for high-quality castings at close tolerances, a need however was felt to study ways to get the optimal settings for main parameters to ensure better surface finish. The requirement in unison was hitherto attempted in case of LM-6 Aluminum alloys castings, developed through green sand casting route. Five main parameters namely Bentonite clay, AFS Grain Fineness Number, Moisture, Pouring temperature and Coal dust were duly identified. The effects of the selected process parameters on the surface finish and the subsequent optimal settings of the parameters were accomplished using Taguchi’s method. Using L8 (27) orthogonal arrays, experiments were conducted as per experimental plans given in this array. The results indicate that the selected parameters significantly affect the surface finish of LM-6 Aluminum alloys castings. The confirmatory experiments have also been carried out to verify the optimal settings of the parameters.

Keywords: Design of Experiments, sand casting of non ferrous alloy, surface finish

JEL Classification: C91